Conventionally, optical disks such as a CD (Compact Disk) and a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) are widely known, and various disk drive apparatus compatible with such optical disks have been proposed (refer to, for example, Patent Document 1 or Patent Document 2).
For example, as shown in FIG. 1, such a conventional disk drive apparatus 2 as described above is incorporated in a apparatus body 1a of a notebook type personal computer 1, and records an information signal supplied thereto from the apparatus body 1a on an optical disk (for example, an optical disk 3 of FIG. 3 hereinafter described or reads out (reproduces) an information signal recorded on an optical disk and supplies the information signal to the apparatus body 1a. 
The conventional disk drive apparatus 2 includes such a housing 11 as shown in FIG. 2. The disk drive apparatus 2 further includes such a disk tray 12 and a disk drive unit attached to the disk tray 12 as shown in FIG. 3, both accommodated in the housing 11. The disk drive unit includes a turntable 15, an optical pickup 16, a flexible printed circuit board (hereinafter referred to as FPC) 17, and so forth.
Further, the conventional disk drive apparatus 2 includes a front panel 13 in the form of a substantially rectangular flat plate attached to the front face (left side face in FIG. 3) of the disk tray 12 for opening and closing a tray gateway of the housing 11. An eject button 14 is provided on the front face of the front panel 13 such that it is depressed in order to eject the disk tray 12 from the housing 11.
Further, the conventional disk drive apparatus 2 includes a decorative laminate 18 (hereinafter referred to as top cover 18) between the lower face of the disk tray 12 and the FPC 17. Another decorative laminate 19 (hereinafter referred to as bottom cover 19) is provided below the lower face of the FPC 17.
The turntable 15 drives an optical disk 3 mounted thereon to rotate.
The optical pickup 16 moves in radial directions of the optical disk 3 which is driven to rotate by the turntable 15 (action of such movement is hereinafter referred to as feeding movement. Further, the direction of the feeding movement is referred to as feeding direction) to perform writing or reading out operation of a signal to and from the optical disk 3. Accordingly, the top cover 18 has such an opening 18a opened by a predetermined distance in a direction (hereinafter referred to as widthwise direction) substantially perpendicular to the feeding direction of the optical pickup 16 as shown in FIG. 3 so that light may not be interrupted between the optical pickup 16 and the lower face of the optical disk 3.
Various signals to be transferred between the optical pickup 16 and the personal computer 1 and so forth such as, for example, signal lines for transmitting an instruction signal for performing writing or reading out operation of a signal on or from the optical disk 3 described above or a signal which makes an object of writing or reading out, are laid on the FPC 17.
Therefore, the FPC 17 is connected at one end portion thereof to the optical pickup 16 and connected at the other end portion thereof to a connector not shown disposed below the optical pickup 16 and below and in the proximity of the turntable 15. In particular, the FPC 17 is disposed such that it is connected at one end portion thereof to the optical pickup 16, extended in one of the feeding directions (substantially leftwardly in FIG. 3) of the optical pickup 16, curved and turned back intermediately and extended in the opposite direction of the feeding directions (substantially rightwardly in FIG. 3). Accordingly, the FPC 17 has such a curved portion 17a as hereinafter described with reference to FIG. 6 and is drawn around between the optical pickup 16 and the connector. In other words, also the position (position in the feeding direction) of the curved portion 17a of the FPC 17 moves in response to the feeding movement of the optical pickup 16.
FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the disk drive apparatus 2 from which the housing 11 of FIG. 2 is removed and the top cover 18 of FIG. 3 is removed.
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-229659
[Patent Document 2]
Japanese patent Laid-Open No. 2001-325740